A heated debate between the Shin Bet and the Mossad: Whose cyber puzzle is harder?
It used to be very easy for the Mossad and the Shin Bet (Israel’s domestic espionage agency) to recruit: using anonymous wanted ads in newspapers (that, regardless, everyone knew came from the spy agencies) or personal referrals from among Israel’s small Old Boys Club.
Isser Harel, one of the founding fathers of Israel’s intelligence community and a former director of the Mossad, decided to recruit former members of the extreme anti British right-wing underground groups Etzel and Lehi to stop them from establishing a new underground organization. He sought to take advantage of their combat experience, their courage, and the fact they did not hesitate the pull the trigger for the organization and send them to missions abroad. in a scene described in Rise And Kill First, he invited them to his home in the Tzahala neighborhood in north Tel Aviv , and demanded them to swear their allegiance to him.
Today, while competing against the high salaries that are offered in the private sector, particularly in the booming Israeli hi-tech industry, Israel’s spy agencies have to mount a public campaign for recruitment, which goes against their DNA.
This article offers a behind-the-scenes look at this new public campaign, answering questions like how many solved the Shin Bet’s cyber puzzle and how does the agency plan to convince those who solved it for fun to also apply for the job.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4956561,00.html
Image Credits: ynet